Written by Rowonna McNeely – Kiera loves to bring acorns home for me. At least three days out of the week, she will bring home a handful of acorns. The first few times it was precious. Now, well, it’s still precious… I love that she thinks about me during the day and that she is showing her love by bringing acorns home to me… but… they are EVERYWHERE.
If I forget to check her pockets before washing clothes, then I will find super shiny, clean acorns in the washing machine. Sometimes, they even make it through the dryer stage. Then they are all super shiny and warm.
We find them on the floor, usually after we have stepped on them. On the plus side, they are not as painful as stepping on a Lego. I’d lay odds they are under my couches.
Last week, Aunt Diana, a friend of ours picked Kiera up early from daycare to spend some time with her. When Diana was ready to go pick Kiera up, I went out to the truck and brought in her booster seat. I started to carry it to Diana’s office but then noticed how nasty the cup holders were. I took a quick moment, emptied them of trash, and cleaned them before handing it over.
Diana left and I went back to work. A couple of hours later, Diana dropped Kiera off so we could go home. I met them outside and unloaded Kiera, her booster seat and a few additional items that her Aunt Diana had picked up for her.
I walked back into work and as I carried her booster seat, I heard a rattle coming from inside. I gently shook her seat again and listened to what sounded like marbles rolling around. I opened the cup holder that I had cleaned less than two hours earlier and discovered a handful of… you guessed it… acorns.
The next day, Diana asked me with a smile on her face if I had found the acorns that were stored in the cup holder. With a playful glare, I shook my head yes.
“Kiera said that her Mom loves the outdoors and so she always brings home acorns to remind her Mom of the outdoors.” Diana explained. “I convinced her we should put them in the cup holders of her seat so she didn’t lose them,” She paused before continuing, “Especially in my car.”
We laughed for a few minutes and Aaron told her about all the acorns that Kiera continuously would bring home. “You should tell her that winter is coming and she needs to leave the acorns for the squirrels.” Diana said.
“That is a brilliant idea!” I exclaimed.
That night, after Aaron stepped on an acorn in the kitchen, he said, “You know baby, we need to start leaving the acorns outside. It’s going to be winter soon and they will need to collect them so they have food.”
Kiera ran to me with excitement in her eyes. “Mom! I’m going to put the acorns outside for the squirrels so they have food for the winter!”
I smiled at Aaron, happy that the plan was working perfectly.
The next day, we pulled up to daycare to pick up Kiera. “Remember, if she has acorns in her pocket, tell her the squirrels will want them for winter. Don’t let her get in the truck with acorns.” Aaron stated.
“I’ve got this.” I replied, closing the door on his smirk.
I so did not have it. As I walked up to the building, Kiera ran up to me holding the bottom of her shirt so it made a bowl. “Look!” She exclaimed. “I have a ton of acorns to take home for the squirrels!”
With a slightly glazed look in my eyes, I took in all the acorns in her shirt. “Umm… but… well… what about the squirrels here?” I asked.
“We don’t have any at daycare. I never see them here.” She explained as she dumped the acorns into a Ziploc bag. “I have maybe 200 more acorns outside!”
My eyes went wide as I quickly assured her that she did not need to get them.
I’ll always remember the look on Aaron’s face as we walked out of the daycare with Kiera clutching a gallon size Ziploc bag filled with acorns. “You go in next time.” I said before he could get a word out.
The next morning, Kiera took the bag of acorns out to our tree and dumped them around the base for the squirrels. “I can help them sometimes.” She said, smiling as she emptied the bag.
I couldn’t help but smile at my sweet, generous child.
Sitting here, writing tonight, my mind wandered over to all the devastation that Texas has seen in the last few days. So many people have lost everything. It breaks my heart. But as I sat here writing my blog, I realized something. We will be ok.
I know this because there are so many people coming out to help each other. People are dropping everything to drive down and help rescue people, animals and livestock. If they aren’t able to go down, they are donating, arranging fundraisers, and sending prayers.
They aren’t doing it for the glory. They are doing it because there is a need and they can help.
Our squirrels won’t know that Kiera is bagging up acorns to feed them; they just know that they are being taken care of. Kiera isn’t feeding the squirrels for attention. She is feeding them because she feels they need help.
It’s what we do… We are TEXAS STRONG.
Thank you for sharing in our weekly journeys. If you have missed any of our past stories, check out our new blog page at www.lifea2k.net or drop us a line at lifea2k@yahoo.com.
Rowonna McNeely
Graphic Designer - Mommy to Kiera
Rowonna McNeely works with her husband, Aaron, at Willie’s T’s in the Art Department, regularly volunteers in the community, and has her hands full with her daughter, Kiera, along with two dogs and one cat.
Rowonna is a graduate of May High School (Go Tigers!) and grew up on a dairy farm. She enjoys reading, creating, swimming, and planning events. She’s also a bit of a klutz.
